The Unforgettable Night
by mycatjake
Summary: On Halloween Night of their sixth year, Lily sleeps with James. The only problem is  she doesn't remember, and James is too afraid to enlighten her. But when they're partnered in the Head's Quarters the next year, things could get interesting.
1. Prologue: Halloween, Sixth Year

Prologue: Halloween Night, Sixth Year

James was feeling this. The music, the crowded room. There was a good vibe, and it just screamed through the walls. A little bit of the right people, a little bit of brandy, and everything was feeling all right. His lids were heavy as he scanned the area – filled with fellow Gryffindors, all moving and swaying to the music that he'd chosen. They were all enjoying a party that he'd planned, along with his best friends of just over six years now; Sirius, Remus, and Peter. He pulled a flask out of his pocket and took a swig, admiring his handiwork. This had been the third consecutive Halloween Party that himself and the Marauders had put together, and for the third consecutive year, it had been a hit. Actually, a hit would be an understatement.

People had been asking about it since early September, but as usual, none of the four boys would let on their secret plan. It was always something that was a surprise, and every time, people were just plain blown away. This year was no exception. People may say that it was a little – _fruity,_ for lack of a better word – that four boys would plan a party. But there was always a motive behind it. That motive, on the most part, being that they wanted to find a way to make the girls easy. To be honest, when was there a better excuse to drink, party, and allow girls to dress as slutty as they'd like? Everyone knew that Halloween was just an excuse for girls to wear costumes that barely covered their backsides, and get away with it.

The only person that appeared to be missing from this party was the infamous Lily Evans – the one girl who didn't fall victim to traps like these. No, Lily was probably in her room reading up for her classes tomorrow, or doing homework for the next three months. Lily was a prefect, a rule-abider, and the girl that had stolen James' heart six years prior, when she'd opened up his car on the Hogwarts Express and asked if she could sit there. He'd never seen a redhead with such beauty – because admit it, how many redheads do you meet that are actually pretty? Sure, they've got exotic hair. But what else? Lily had everything. But unfortunately, because of his lack of maturity at eleven years of age, things hadn't exactly worked out the way he would have liked . . . consequently leading to Lily despising him. Utterly.

"The flask," Sirius hissed in James' ear abruptly, elbowing him in the side. James furtively slipped him the alcohol and slid his hands back into his pockets. Watching as his best friend tipped back his head and took the alcohol like a pro. "So what're you doing on the sidelines?"

"Just taking it all in."

"You mean focusing in on your next target?" Sirius asked with a laugh, wiping his mouth and scanning the room. "What do you think of Rebecca tonight. She sure does make quite an attractive Dorothy! I wonder if her underwear match her shoes."

"That's just weird," James replied, chuckling to himself. "Where's Remus?"

"One word. Playboy bunny."

"Two words."

"You get the idea." Sirius shrugged and passed the flask back to James, who drained it. He was sure feeling good now. He loved that feeling; the second the alcohol penetrated his bloodstream. He felt liberated -- like he could do anything. "Okay, I need to get back to hot Dorothy before someone snatches her up. Go find yourself some ass, all right?"

"No worries Padfoot, its in the bag," James said, his voice slurring slightly. Sirius gave him a final salute and backed into the crowd, wrapping his arms around a certain tall, curly haired girl in a gingham dress. James exhaled, enjoying the mesh of colors and he leaned up against the wall, his eyes heavy and a dumb smile on his face.

That's when he saw her. It was such an unexpected sight that James almost sobered up just at the thought. What was she doing here? And why was her skirt higher than her knees? Oh, and look at those legs and how perfectly shaped they are. Lily Evans sure made a perfect catwoman, with the tight, pleather top. James thought that he might juice his pants. What was she doing here, and in that costume? He tried to draw his attention away, but he absolutely could not. He didn't have a chance, so why bother?

James reached for a glass of punch and missed, instead, sticking his hand in the punch bowl and staining the end of his sleeves a haunting blood red. He wiped his hand on the tablecloth and slid through the crowd. People had absolutely no problem parting for James Potter – after all, him and his friends practically ruled the school. He was surprised how easy Lily was to approach. He wondered why, when he came within three feet of her, she didn't mutter some weird insult and dart in the other direction. No, there was something different about Lily Evans that night, and James would be damned if he didn't figure it out.

"Miss Evans," James slurred, sneaking up next to her. He was so close he could feel her body heat. He wondered how hot she must be, wrapped up tightly in all that plastic.

"Potter," Lily said, using his name the same way she normally would. Except there was something different. Her tone wasn't full of hatred or disgust, and her eyes just slipped slowly up his frame and back down. Her mouth formed a slight smile, and she raised an eyebrow in his direction.

James licked his lips, wanting to trail his fingers down her body. He was getting goose bumps just thinking about it.

"What brings you to the Halloween Party?"

"I don't know. I just felt like getting out. You know, letting _loose_," Lily replied, biting her lip and glancing slowly out at the crowd. She flipped her hair, allowing James a whiff of Honeysuckle shampoo.

"Well, I could probably help you with that," James said, knowing he was crossing the line and not caring, because he was getting a good feeling. The buzz of the alcohol, the energy of the crowd, the beat of the music. Everything just felt so good. Why stop now?

"Possibly."

"You know you're a tough catch, Evans?"

"Yeah, but that makes me so much more worth it."

James looked at her, his gaze pleading as he trailed his eyes down her perfect figure. He couldn't stop thinking about how closely the outfit clung to her frame; her hips, her bosom, her tiny little waist. "So what's the secret?"

"Hmm? Do you really think I'm that easy?"

"I think I could make you easy," James replied, stepping in front of her, so close that her breasts almost brushed his chest.

"That's a bold statement, Mr. Potter," Lily pointed out, looking up at him with heavy lids.

James slid a hand up to her chin and cupped her face. She shivered slightly, but made no move to leave. Her eyes closed at the sensation of his touch, and James could feel something between them. There was a static, a certain energy emanating from their bodies. It was making James' heart beat fast. It was making him hot, and he couldn't stand the tension. He needed her, and he needed her fast.

He wrapped his other arm around her waist -- taken aback by how tiny it was, but pleased nonetheless – and pulled her up against him leaving no room between them. He lowered his face to meet hers, and when their lips met, it was as if a sudden urgency had taken over. The room was too hot, and everything else seemed to quiet. The room bounced in slow motion. James pushed her up against the wall, and Lily moaned in enjoyment. He worked his hands up and down the sides of her body and she buckled into him. James couldn't believe this was happened – with _Lily Evans_. She was a prefect. Goody-two shoes didn't do things like this. It was like every guy's dream of good girl gone bad, and he was loving it.

Now let's get one thing straight here about a certain Mr. Potter, before we proceed. James had always been a ladies' man, but in no way did that imply that he had no respect for or didn't know how to treat a lady. Sirius was the debonair one, the one who didn't care so much. The one who didn't would spend the night and leave her. James believed in relationships, he believed in love, he believed that there was much more to sex than the physical act – but he had yet to meet a girl who really proved all of these theories. He'd always had a certain magnetism towards Lily Evans – one which was different than anything he'd felt with another girl.

But back to the story. James could feel the immediateness of Lily's actions in the way she kissed him. It was almost as if she never thought she would kiss again, and how quickly her hands wove through his hair and along his back; squeezing in tugging an urgency that was almost unimaginable to him. So why would any sixteen year old boy stop a girl that was ready to have her way with him? James backed away, taking Lily by the hand and leading her up the stairs.

This proved to be a more difficult task than he had planned, however, because they kept stopping on the way up, pushing each other up against the walls. On top of it all, James could admit later that he was highly intoxicated. Not so intoxicated where he wouldn't remember what happened, but just enough for him to have a bit of trouble stabilizing himself on a circular staircase. Needless to say, by the time they even reached the sixth year boys dormitory, James' shirt was completely unbuttoned and half untucked from his trousers, and the lacing up the back of Lily's stop was becoming loose, and James feared that if he moved too far of a distance away from her, the top would fall and expose her to other people in the dorm. And James couldn't have _that_happening.

So he held her tight, kissing her neck as he lifted her up and placed her on to the bed, laying her out so that her long, gorgeous red mane fanned out around her. She looked like some sort of dark angel, sprawled up against the bed sheets on his four poster. He winked at the others in the room, wondering quietly where Peter had gotten off to, and drew the curtains, muttering a silencing charm as they fell around the bed, and crawling over Lily to create magic and moments for a night that he was sure neither of them could ever, or would ever forget.

* * *

"_Prongs!"_

James stirred slightly, blinking that the darkness that still enclosed his bed from the night before. He looked down, noticing that he was wearing nothing and drew the covers closer to his body remembering the amazing night before. Lily was sleeping next to him, on her side. She was still out cold. He kissed her on the neck softly.

"_Prongs!"_

James grabbed his glasses and slid them onto his face, noticing the sliver of light coming between the curtains. There was the face of Remus, peeking at him and beckoning him out.

"Not now, Moony! I'm not wearing anything!" James hissed, nodding in the direction of Lily.

Remus tossed some boxers at him. "You have to hear this. Get out! Now!"

James snapped the curtains shut, wondering angrily what could possible be so important that they'd need to ruin this beautiful morning? He slipped the boxers over his legs, trying to move as little as possible. He didn't want to wake her up when she looked so peaceful. He couldn't believe what was happening. It was so amazing that he was ready to burst. Who knows what good could come of a thing like this?

He slid off of his bed, closing the curtains tightly and remuttering the silencing charm on the bed that he had the night before. He didn't want any stupidity that the Marauders felt the need to share penetrating Lily's beautiful sleep. Because Merlin knew, she needed it after all the physical activity from the night before.

Remus and Sirius were sitting on Remus' bed, watching James, both of them looked a little strained about something. Peter was poking around the room, pacing back and forth. James couldn't help but wonder what the matter was, but from the looks of it, it was actually serious. He didn't expect it at all. He was thinking it would be Remus and Sirius wanting to fill him in on their experiences from the night before, but this very obviously wasn't the case.

"James, I think you should sit down," Sirius said.

James gave him an odd look, leaning up against the nightstand and crossing his arms across his bare chest. "What? Why is Sirius so serious?"

"Ha," Sirius said, and with a glare from Remus, quickly shut up.

"As you may know, Lily had an unfortunate run-in with the Slytherins yesterday," Remus began slowly, not breaking eye contact with James the entire time.

"Yeah . . ."

"Well, there was some cursing – on both sides – and it turns out that Lily may have been –"

"James she only slept with you because she was under a very heavy spell last night!" Sirius blurted. James felt his stomach drop and his eyes lowered to the floor. This was really a problem.

"James, if she wakes up and sees you, she's going to flip out! I looked it up, it's a dark magic curse that closely resembles the Muggle date rape drug. Chances are she wont remember anything that happened last night. So if you both used protection, no one has to know," Remus explained, backing slowly away, because he knew James would getting more and more pissed off as the moments passed by. He knew it wasn't her fault, but he was still angry. He was angry that they'd spend time together, and no one would no. Lily wouldn't know. She wouldn't even care!

James nodded, swallowing his anger. There was nothing left to do. Lily could never know about this. It was something that could only stay between the four of them. If Lily found out, she'd be livid. If the Slytherins found out, they'd be elated. And he couldn't have either of those things happening. Through his anger, James knew that he had to do what was best for Lily, even if it meant hurting silently for a long time.

He pulled on some clothing and fixed his glasses, scooping Lily into his arms. He wrapped her in a sheet, and with both of them under his invisibility cloak, snuck down the stairs into the common room. It was still very early. James was surprised that Remus had even gotten Sirius up to talk. No one was on the couches, and the fire hadn't been lit yet. He supposed the less people that were around, the better.

James had to move slowly and fluidly, so not to jerk Lily awake and risk being beating over the head for touching her. She'd probably think he'd raped her. The thought of it made him a little angry. Anyone who knew James Potter, knew he'd never take advantage of a lady. James couldn't help but feeling terrible about the night before, but had he known what had happened, James would never have slept with her. Absolutely never.

He crept up the stairs and swung open the door to the sixth year girls dormitory. Al the girls were still asleep, including Lily's friends. He hoped to God no one had noticed her missing the night before, or there'd be serious trouble. He knew he couldn't leave her in bed naked – because honestly, who sleeps naked in a room they share with like ten other people? So he poked around her drawers until he found a nightgown, and after ten minutes of creeping around her body so he wouldn't wake her up, succeeded in dressing her and slid her under the covers.

As he turned to leave, his heart ached. He felt like a wimp, but this really sucked. He knew he'd never forget about that night. And he hoped that one day Lily would be as excited and satisfied with it as he'd been. He bent over and gave her one last kiss on the cheek, brushing her hair out of her face before spinning away and hurrying down the stairs as quickly as possible without making noise. He went back up to his dorm, and resumed his normal day. The only problem with it was, all of his normal days following that Halloween Night would never be the same.

* * *

Lily stirred on the day after Halloween only after her best friend, Arianna's, alarm clock had gone off three times. It wasn't a surprise to most that it would take that many rings to wake Arianna up, but normally Lily was up at the crack of dawn. It wasn't because she got up early to primp, or to do excess homework like most people thought. No, Lily Evans just loved watching the sunrise. She loved the colors, and the smell of a day when it was fresh. She loved listening to the birds chirp and watching the dew fade. She'd walk up there, early in the morning with a canvas tucked under her arm and just paint the morning away.

This particular morning, Lily felt groggy. Her eyes were cloudy, and she felt exhausted. She didn't understand why. She remembered the night before. She'd gotten into an argument with that awful woman – whatsername – Bellatrix from Slytherin and then she'd gone to dinner. After dinner she'd been tired, so she laid down. So there was absolutely no reason why she should be sleepy at all!

Lily sat up, shaking the sleep out of her head and yawned. It was easily seven-thirty already, and she had class in an hour. She blinked and looked over at Adrianna, who slapped her alarm clock for the fourth time and rolled back over. Lily hoped to herself that she wasn't coming down with anything.

She slid out of bed and got dressed quickly, knowing she wouldn't have time to shower before her first class. So instead, she brushed her hair and threw it up into a ponytail. Noticing the dark circles under her eyes, put on a little make up and some chap stick before grabbing her bag of books that she'd prepared the night before. She glanced once more in the mirror, noticing a red mark on her neck. Well that was funny. She must have bumped into something last night. Simple solution; she just zipped her jacket a little higher and made her way down the cold stairs.

She could smell the fire burning in the common room already when she reached the bottom. A few people were moseying around, reading or gossiping quietly. That was what she loved about the morning – everyone was quiet, as if they were still asleep and dreaming a little.

Everything about the morning seemed perfect – until she caught a glimpse of a certain messy-haired head lounging in one of the chairs by the fire. He seemed deep in thought about something. The corners of his mouth were turned down, and his chin was rested on his palm. It appeared as if something was really bothering him. Lily's spirits seemed to rise a little at this, knowing that James' day wasn't better than hers. She couldn't stand his little happy façade that he had all the time. How everyone seemed to like him. How come no one could tell he was just another arrogant prick?

Lily glanced back at him quickly, noticing how he was not watching her intently, his eyebrows raised, yet his face was expressionless. She breathed in quickly and cocked her head at him, holding her bag closer to her. He didn't look away once, or make a crude remark.

"What are you looking at?" Lily snapped. James just shook his head and Lily pushed through the portrait hole, wondering why he was acting so strange.

If only she knew.


	2. Missing Head Boys and Secret Papers

Chapter One: Missing Head Boys and Secret Papers

One year later, Lily Evans is patrolling the halls on Halloween. She hadn't been able to find the Head Boy who was _supposed_ to be doing rounds with her. Unfortunately, when she'd rapped on his door in the Head's Quarters, he'd never responded. She'd opened the door to an empty room, with the usual mess. The bed was unmade, the drawers were hanging open. Schoolwork was strewn everywhere, and Lily had hard time understanding how he lived in a place like that. She always had to have things in order. She couldn't imagine how anyone who'd made it to Head Boy could be so disorganized – but she supposed it didn't matter, he'd made it hadn't he?

Lily sighed and wrapped her hand around her wand in her pocket. She didn't need to be insulted or attacked by any Slytherins like she had the least year. She'd felt weird for a few days after, and she couldn't even imagine what would have happened. Lily Evans was a fairly smart girl, but this just left her feeling dumbfounded. How had they come up with a more complicated spell than she had?

She knocked on the door of a broom closet and stepped back, almost on cue, when a couple who had stupidly been leaning on the door fell out. They scrambled on top of each other, amongst a pile of mops and buckets, and ran in the opposite direction, their cheeks very red. Lily just shook her head and magicked everything back where it went before resuming her rounds. She knew why no one she caught was from Gryffindor – it was the Marauder's fourth annual Halloween Party. Lily had never attended this party, and wasn't planning on starting tonight. She would have to make an appearance just to keep the illegal substances to a minimum. The last thing she needed was points taken off because some silly boys couldn't keep the party from shaking the whole school.

Lily shrugged and pulled her cloak closer to her body. It was a cold night; incredibly cold for Halloween. But she didn't mind. The sooner the snow came, the sooner she'd be able to get out her canvases and paint a portrait of Hogwarts in the wintertime, and she was more than looking forward to that. She bit her lip as she turned the corner, and came face-to-face with none other than the infamous Sirius Black. She knew Black through mutual friends, and although they weren't close, she didn't mind spending time with him; disregarding the fact that almost _everything_ he did was against school rules.

"You look chilly, ma-Lily," Sirius observed, looking Lily up and down. "Where's your boyfriend? He ought to warm you up."

"Nice rhyme . . . and I don't have a clue where Gid is. I'm supposed to meet him when I finish my rounds so as long as he's on time I suppose it doesn't matter," Lily said, smiling slightly at the thought of her boyfriend. He was a Ravenclaw quidditch player. Tall, tan, blonde, but not too sharp-featured. He had windswept hair, and was one of the few seventh year prefects that actually did what she asked him to. Before Lily, he'd had quite the reputation, but she knew that their love had changed that. People change.

"Why are we talking about Lily's man-whore of a boyfriend again?" James asked, popping his head around the corner and shuffling around in his pockets.

"Well now, isn't that just the pot calling the kettle black?" Lily quipped, raising a disgusted eyebrow in James' direction. "Sirius, why must you always have James tagging along? It's not like you need _another_ shadow!"

"Gee, James. I never thought you were quite dark enough to be a shadow. Am I right?" Sirius joked as James shrugged and continued to poke around in his pockets.

"What are you doing there, James? Lost a condom or something of equal importance?" James looked up at Lily and shook his head before resuming his search.

"Its not of any importance to you, so it shouldn't matter," James replied.

"I should be asking you two if you've got any illegal substances on you," Lily said, scanning the boys from head to toe.

"I'll voluntarily allow you to give me a full body scan," Sirius leaned up against the wall, placing his feet shoulder's length apart and his hands raised above his head. "Scan away!"

"You're a pervert!" Lily laughed. "I am not giving you a body scan!"

"Fine, but you're missing out. Now you'll never know what's hidden behind these clothes," Sirius said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Something tells me that I don't ever want to know," Lily replied.

"Oh! There it is," James muttered, pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket.

"Well, the ladies that spend the night in my room screaming my name at the top of their lungs would probably tell you different," Sirius continued, ignoring James.

"What have you got, Potter?" Lily said, eyeing the piece of paper in James' hands.

"Nothing of interest to you, Evans, now why don't you run along, have sex with your man whore of a boyfriend, contract an STD, and leave me alone," James replied. He appeared to be in a more hurried, angry mood than usual. Normally, his insults were minimal, and definitely never hurt her feelings. But by this statement, Lily was taken aback. Mostly because she was still a virgin, and everyone in their right minds knew this. She did have the feeling, however, that she and Gid would be sleeping together soon. "Sirius, let's go."

"Actually, Lily, I was wondering if you could set me up with your friend, Leah?" Sirius was saying, again not listening to anything else that was going on other than what was playing inside his own head.

"Leah is too innocent for you," Lily replied, shaking her head. "Until you get past the mentality of a twelve-year-old, I'm going to say that she's out of your league."

"You're speaking for her then, I presume?" Sirius asked.

"Of course I am! I'd say I know her well enough," Lily replied, nodding.

"Sirius! CAN – WE – GO – NOW?" James elbowed Sirius in the side in a not-so-subtle manner. Sirius whimpered and jumped, surprised at the sudden contact.

"_Fine,_whatever you say, Potty," Sirius replied.

"Don't call me Potty."

"Don't elbow me in the side."

"Don't you two have a party to run or something?" Lily asked, nodding in the direction of the Gryffindor Tower. They had strayed at least halfway across the castle, which was an odd place for them to be on such an important night for their popularity. If they weren't there to keep the party going, then who would?

"Yeah," James agreed. "We better get back to the party, 'aye Sirius?"

"What? I thought we were –"

"—getting back to the party!" James said forcefully. Grabbing Sirius by the arm. "Bid Miss _Evans_ a goodnight!"

"Ow! Too pushy, Prongs, too pushy," Sirius puffed, as he was dragged away. "I bid you goodnight Miss Evans, and a good morn if I don't see you, and if I miss you in Charms, I bid thee a good noon, and a good eve . . ."

Lily stopped listening, as Sirius was too far down the hall for her to comprehend his final words. That was one of the strangest encounters that she'd ever had, but she couldn't say it was something out of the ordinary. Every encounter with Sirius was, to say the least, interesting. And now he was after her best friend Leah? That was odd. She knew for a fact that Leah _was_ interested in Sirius, but she didn't want Sirius to know. She was afraid that if Sirius wasn't willing to fight for Leah, he'd just sleep with her and leave her like everyone else. And Lily didn't want to see Leah get hurt, after her chain of bad relationships over the past couple of years. It was just getting too much for Lily to bear.

She'd met Leah on the first night of school. She'd gone upstairs to the dormitory, ready to unpack her things and get a long night's rest before attacking the new and interesting magical world during the next day. Lily was a muggle-born, so the wizarding world was a completely new experience. She had no idea what to expect, and everything that happened seemed like a crazy surprise. Who would have ever thought that there'd be candy that actually _jumped?_ Lily couldn't stomach a chocolate frog for years – she couldn't help but think that the frogs were _alive_ in some way.

Lily shuddered a little as she rounded one of the corners and the suit of armor saluted her. It had taken a bit of persuasion, but she'd gotten the suits of armor on her side. Now she could get them to dress up any way that she pleased for the holidays, and she'd gotten them to wear glowing Jack-o-Lanterns on their heads for this Halloween. They hadn't been too thrilled about it when she did it, but they warmed to the idea when they saw how much attention they got when all decked out in holiday attire. Nonetheless, she was still getting accustomed to the live-but-not-really-alive armor that could move but had no one inside.

Anyway, back to her and Leah. Leah had had a hard time making friends over the first few weeks of school, because she was so quiet. She got much more attention of the guys of the opposite sex. Leah was on the verge of exotic looking. She had smooth, light chocolatey skin with deep, honey brown eyes and long, curly black hair which was unmanageable in a _good_ way. Lily, being the bookworm that she was, had a hard time making friends as well. So they'd just bonded together, and in due time, Leah came out of her shell, and Lily had realized how much her and Leah really did have in common. Not only that – but Leah was useful in explaining to Lily how things in the wizarding world worked.

Then, in their third year, they'd met up with their last friend, Ari, in their third year. Ari was the complete opposite of Lily and Leah, so it worked very well. Ari was the party girl. She wasn't afraid to go out and get drunk, and Lily stopped keeping track of the number of guys that Ari had slept with. It took Lily a while to learn not to judge Ari's ways, especially coming from such a strict upbringing. Luckily, however, Ari was always there to pick Lily up when she was feeling low, and always knew exactly what to say. She was the blonde of the group, with a loud mouth, brown eyes, and "forget-it" attitude.

After a few minutes of aimless wandering, Lily decided to make her way up to the Gryffindor Common Room, and try to track down Remus, because he may know why James and Sirius were acting so odd. Besides, she could figure out why, exactly, they were pretending to go to the party that _they'd _personally planned when they were very obviously headed elsewhere. Lily honestly didn't know why she cared so much about what they were up to – it was probably illegal and against school rules – but today she had a weird feeling about it. She knew that there was something serious going on, and the curious cat in Lily wanted to find out exactly what it was.

She muttered the password and the portrait swung open, revealing music so loud that the stone walls were pulsating. Lily stepped through tactfully, squaring her shoulders and pushing her way through the crowd until she spotted a worn, yet friendly face with medium brown hair and an average frame. He was standing by the food table, sipping a glass of punch and chatting with Peter. Peter noticed her first, and he elbowed Remus, who then waved her over to them.

"What's in your drink?" Lily asked, grabbing the red liquid and smelling it.

"Nothing," Remus screamed, over the music, "its just punch, I swear! We don't spike stuff at this party."

"Oh," Lily pushed the drink back at Remus and leaned up against the wall, crossing her arms. "I don't remember the party being this big last year."

Remus just looked at her funny and shrugged. "It gets a little bigger every year, I suppose."

"Hmmm," Lily said, scanning the room for a certain James Potter and Sirius Black. "Where's the rest of the Fantastic Four?"

"Donno," Remus relied, looking out across the room. "They just took off on a 'short' errand. They've been gone for nearly an hour now."

"That sure is odd." Lily walked over to a random student and grabbed their drink, smelling it.

"Don't be so uptight, Lily," the girl muttered, grabbing it back.

"I'm not uptight, _you're_ underage!" Lily stated, her eyes glancing up at the clock. She realized it was nearly ten o'clock, and time for her to meet Gid down outside the library. They always met outside the library, because that was where she'd met him. They'd both been studying for an exam in Transfiguration, and had decided to team up and work together. Before she knew it, there were sparks flying, and the famous Gideon Primble had asked her on a date. _A real date! _Lily was a beauty, but she couldn't say that she'd been asked out all that much.

She hurried to the nearest bathroom and leaned over the sink, fixing her hair. She checked the headband that she always wore, to make sure that it was in place, and put some chapstick on. That was the extent of make up that Lily wore. She usually preferred to go natural, because what was the point of having a guy think that you're someone that you aren't? If they think you're beautiful with no alterations, then that is how you know you've found someone_special_, or that's what Lily always believed.

She piled all her stuff back into her clutch, and took one last glance in the mirror before exiting the bathroom. The hallways were still clear of people, mostly because many of them were attending a party of some sort. Lily was feeling in a particularly good mood, as she always did before she met Gid. He seemed like a prince to her. His sparkling blue eyes and the way he wore his hair _just so_. Lily Evans was lovestruck.

And as usual, Gideon was right on time. She ran up to him and kissed him slowly.

"Hey Gid."

* * *

James and Sirius had been sitting outside Dubledore's office for nearly thirty minutes now, and neither of them could figure out where an old man would be going at such a late hour. James was awake and alert, but he couldn't say the same for Sirius, who was slouched up against the cold, stone wall. He kept dozing off, so his head would rest lazily on his shoulder. Many times he would start drooling, and then he would snore so loudly that he would wake himself up. And every time, he would ask James what that loud sound was, and refused to believe that he, himself, had emitted it. 

"I wonder what kind of chicks Dumbledore gets," Sirius wondered out loud, stifling a yawn and staring at the gargoyle statue.

"Beats me. He's a pretty talented wizard, so I bet that makes up for his age," James replied, laughing slightly at the thought of Dumbledore with a woman. Somehow he found it hard to see. He'd never saw Dumbledore as being attached to anyone, ever.

"I bet they tickle his chin and call him Father Christmas."

"Why would they call him Father Christmas?" James asked, giving Sirius and odd look.

"Beeeecause he's got a beard?"

"That's disturbing," James said.

There was a moment of silence, before Sirius randomly said, "Does Lily know you two had sex?"

James stared blankly at Sirius for a moment, wishing that he hadn't brought it up. It was something that happened in the past, and none of the Marauders had mentioned it since the night it happened. James didn't like to think about how he'd had something so perfect and then it had just slipped away, like water through his fingertips. It was then that he'd vowed never to care about another girl that much again. So far, it had been working.

"Why the _fuck_ would she know?" James asked. "Have you said something to her?"

"Nuh—uh. Just wondering," Sirius replied.

"Wondering what, Mr. Black?"

Both boys looked up to be greeted by the friendly face of Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore knew of the trouble that the Marauders always caused, yet had taken a liking to them anyhow. Two of them were prefects – James included – and Dumbledore seemed to rather enjoy the pranks that they would play on members of the Slytherin house; whether he was willing to admit it or not.

"I wonder many things," Sirius said, gazing up at the ceiling, "like, why do chocolate frogs jump?"

"That is a very complicated story, which I would tell you, but my gut is telling me that that is _not_ the reason that you've grazed the entrance to my office on this Hallow's Eve," Dumbledore pointed out.

James stood up, and dragged Sirius off of the floor, so that he would not seem rude in front of the Headmaster.

"Sir, I have some evidence for you," James stated, fingering the paper in his left pocket. He'd been anxious about this when he'd found it, and was just itching to share it with someone other than Sirius. Someone who would actually _appreciate_what he'd discovered.

"Ah, well, shall we go up to my office?" Dumbledore asked, tapping the gargoyle three times. This was his way of getting up to his office so that no one knew the password. And the gargoyle was only sensitive to the touch of the Headmaster. James had tried this approach many times, but it had never worked for him, disappointingly enough.

"Yes, sir."

The gargoyle spun open, revealing an intricate set of spiral stairs. He followed the Headmaster up them, with Sirius bringing up the rear. It was a pretty long staircase, and the first time that James had been up it, he'd felt a little nauseous. This was way back in first year, probably the second day of school. He'd just met Sirius, and although his new friend had come from a line of Slytherins, Sirius had despised them and the two eleven-year-olds had planned one of the most hilarious pranks of all time to play on the opposing house.

Needless to say, the Slytherins weren't happy, and although Professor McGonagall had sent them straight to Dumbledore's office for the offense, Dumbledore had had little to say on the matter. He'd advised not to play any more, but had first taken a moment to commend them on their excellent planning and execution. Since then, it was very obvious that none of the four boys had taken the advice offered by Professor Dumbledore back in the very beginning of their time at Hogwarts.

When they reached the office, Dumbledore offered them each a seat and a candy, before crossing the desk to his large, bold chair. He grabbed a chocolate and popped it into his mouth before leaning forward and crossing his long, knobby fingers on top of the desk.

"Now, what would you like to show me?"

James pulled the piece of paper from his pocket. The edges were a little worn, because he'd been anxiously playing with it all night long. Dumbledore examined it, his eyebrows furrowed.

"This is the third offense," Dumbledore stated. "You are not the only one who has brought this to my attention."

"I'm not usually one to rat, but this seemed really serious," James said nervously. He would hate if someone did it to him, so why was he doing it to someone else?

"Yes, it is, indeed. We'll have to take action immediately."

"Yes, sir," James said, standing up.

"Get your things together, James."

"What?" James asked, taken aback.

"I said, _get your things._"

"Yes, sir."

* * *

A/N: Ooooh! A cliffhanger! Review and you'll find out what James just had to tell Dumbledore! Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I always appreciate the encouragement! 


	3. Surprise, Intervention, Snow Prank

Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling. But I bow to her.

* * *

Chapter 2: Surprise, Intervention, Snow Prank 

Lily Evans woke up on the first of November with a smile. It was a gorgeous day outside. She'd opened her eyes to a stream of sunlight, a bright blue sky, and fresh snow atop her windowsill. The room was the perfect temperature, and her blankets were thick and cozy. As much as Lily loved being Head Girl because of the hard work, the benefits were just out of this world! She got her own private bathroom, a big comfortable bed, a quiet common room, a good partner . . . and the list went on.

The night before had been amazing. Gid had surprised her with flowers and took her to Hogsmeade, where he bought her dinner and they had amazing conversation over hot chocolate and cookies afterwards. The one thing she loved about Gid the most was how much he understood her. He got her better than anyone else in the world, and Lily loved it. She was almost positive that she loved him, too. They'd been dating for more than six months now, and she was ready to tell him how she felt. The only thing was, that he hadn't said he loved her yet. It bothered her, but she tried not to let it ruin things between them. He just may not be ready.

Lily was humming slightly as she grabbed her brush off of her nightstand and began running it through her hair. It had been a pretty perfect night, and things were going very well. Other than the occasional run-in with Potter, things were pretty much A-OK. She only wondered what the little prick had been hiding in his cloak the night before. She knew that James was fairly smart, but he was also promiscuous, so it could have been pretty much anything. And part of her thought that she probably didn't want to know what he was hiding anyway. That was his business.

There was a loud knock on the door, which distracted Lily from her usual morning routine. It was about nice o'clock on a Saturday morning, which meant that most people were still asleep, including both Leah and Ari. She was used to getting ready in the peace and quiet before delving back into the regular day, full of regular people.

Lily exhaled and made her way to the door, opening it a crack to see who it was.

"Head Girl's residence –"

"Lily!" Ari hissed, pushing her back into the room. Lily stumbled back towards her bed, landing haphazardly on the unmade blankets.

"Well, good morning to you as well," Lily said with a laugh, curling her legs underneath her. Ari didn't flinch, and Leah was standing behind her looking a little uncomfortable. Something was going on. And it if it wasn't serious, Ari would not be awake. "What? Did someone die?"

"No," Ari said. "It's way worse than that."

"How could it be worse than that!"

"Trust me, its worse than that," Leah said, nodding.

"Okay . . ."

"So we had a little chat with Sirius last night," Ari began, crossing her arms and dropping into a chair next to Lily's dresser.

"Leah, did Sirius bother you? Because I told him to stay away . . . you're too good for him," Lily said, getting distracted.

"Lily, we're friends with Sirius. _I_ am friends with Sirius. Remember?" Leah said, laughing a little.

"Right, I knew that."

"Lily!" Ari said, taking her by the shoulders. "Focus!"

"Right, right."

"So this might come as a shock to you, but –"

"How'd you get in? Did Colin let you in?"

"What, did you wake up with ADD this morning?" Ari said, throwing her arms up in the air. You could read the frustration on her face. "And no, Colin did not let me in. That's what this is all about –"

"Who let you in then? Because I _know_ alohomora doesn't work on these doors. I've tried it."

"That's what this is all about. If you would just _listen_ for more than _thirty seconds_ that would be lovely," Ari yelled, taking a deep breath. She ran her fingers through her blond hair and set her jaw, looking Lily straight in the eyes with an unmoving gaze.

"Okay. Fine."

"Colin isn't head boy anymore," Ari said. That was absurd. Why wouldn't Colin be head boy anymore? Dumbledore almost _never_went back on his choice for head boy. Colin couldn't be . . . But he couldn't have actually . . . _died?_ Could he?

"Why? What's wrong with Colin? Is he alive?" Lily's heart was beating quickly. Who would have done something to Colin? Had Voldemort gotten him?

"No, Lily, Colin's title has been taken away because he's got a drug problem."

Lily burst out laughing. She could hardly control herself. It wasn't until she'd been laughing for a few minutes that she realized neither Ari nor Leah were laughing with her.

"Oh, so this isn't a joke," Lily said, clearing her throat.

"No, Lily."

"Well I suppose I should probably head up to Dumbledore's office so I can help him pick the new head boy. And I should probably help Colin pack," Lily said, hopping off her bed and walking briskly towards her bedroom door.

"Colin is gone –!"

But it was too late. Lily had opened the door and came face-to-face with the infamous, cocky, fat-headed, intolerable James Potter. He was lounging on the couch of the common room, and he looked up at Lily when she entered. He smiled at her, flashing all his teeth, and all Lily could do was stare at him, her insides boiling so hard that she didn't know what to do to herself.

"Lily," Ari tried, but Lily was so wrapped up in whatever was going on in her mind, that she completely ignored her friend.

"This is bad," Leah whispered, as Lily continued to stare at James, her face getting progressively redder and redder as she stood there, her hands balled up in fists. How could James-bloody-Potter get this over someone else? Over Remus Lupin? Over Gideon? How was that possible? Both of those boys worked their rumps off, all while James strutted around the school shaking his little butt like he owned the place. Oh, she and Dumbledore needed to have a little chat!

"Well, good morning Evans, you're looking quite . . . red today," James said.

"You," was all Lily could muster. It was as if she'd been paralyzed with anger.

"Lily, there are mature ways to deal with this," Leah said, laying a hand on Lily's shoulder, but she just shrugged it off.

"_You."_

"Yes, me. James Potter. I am the new head boy," James said standing up. "Sorry, I forgot to tell you when you first walked in."

"YOU!" Lily shrieked, and all the anger that and been pushing up through her erupted.

Lily took off, faster than a cheetah on hot pursuit, across the common room, her arms stretched out before her, aiming for James' neck. She was going to kill him! How could he ruin this for her! The nerve that he had, raining on her parade. She'd worked her butt of for_seven years_ and there was absolutely _no way_ that he was going to mess it up!

"Whoa there, Evans! We can talk this out!" James said, scrambling backwards as Lily leaped over the couch, grabbing a pillow.

Lily charged towards the window and James backed away, but Lily was quick. She darted back across the room, swinging the pillow back and forth quickly attempting to smack James across the face. This pursuit lasted nearly five minutes, Ari and Leah occasionally running every which way to avoid being mulled over. When Lily got angry, she literally saw red, and both of her friends knew that she got like a bull when she charged, and also that no one should get in between Lily and her target unless they liked to be plowed over.

"Honestly! Evans! You're mad!" James squealed backing up against the couch, and Lily who wasn't expecting him to stop, ran smack into him, pushing him over the back on the couch so they both landed – with Lily on top – onto the cushion of the couch. She laid there in shock for a moment, her face rested on James' chest, breathing hard.

"Bloody hell," Lily said, with the last bit of energy she could muster. She rolled off of James, disgusted that they'd made physical contact, and feeling a little nauseous from all of this.

"Evans, I'm really not that bad," James said quietly, looking Lily in the eye.

Lily paused, breathing heavily for a second. "Ha!" she said curtly, pushing herself off of the carpet and stalking straight past her friends and into her bedroom. The door slammed so hard that the golden plate engraved with the words _Head Girl_ fell to the floor of the common room.

"Oh, oh boy," Leah said, raising her eyebrows, while Ari nodded.

* * *

James shook himself out as he sat up from the couch, ruffling his hair and making sure that the coast was clear. Ari and Leah were trying to reattach the gold plate to Lily's door, whispering amongst themselves. Lily had honestly reacted just the way that he'd expected her to; except the plan didn't actually go the way it was supposed to. She wasn't supposed to walk in on him being head boy. She was supposed to have been told by some certain people beforehand to soften the blow.

"Well, it could have been worse," James said sarcastically, strolling over to Ari and Leah. Ari laughed out loud.

"Yeah, she could have _actually _killed you," Ari said, effectively sticking the plate to the door. It was slightly crooked, but since Ari had never been much of a perfectionist, James could see how this would work for Ari, but not for Lily.

"Lily is going to _freak _when she sees that," Leah said, pointing at the down-slant of the plate.

"Just what I was thinking," James said, taking out his wand and aiming it at the plate.

"Oh, don't pretend like you know Lily really well," Ari said with a sarcastic tone.

"I do know her well," James replied curtly, bowing slightly. "Just because Evans and I aren't friends, we have the same friends, and alas, I have been able to study her from afar for nearly seven years."

"That's creepy," Leah said, shaking her head. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were a stalker."

"Oh, but I _am_a stalker," James said in a creepy voice.

Leah rolled her eyes as Ari started moving towards the doors of the head's quarters.

"We're going to head down and get some breakfast. All that anger is really making me hungry," Ari said, rubbing her stomach as she opened the door. "Will Mr. Potter be joining us?"

"Hmm," James said, thinking, "possibly. Mr. Potter will join you shortly."

The girls laughed and left the room, leaving James to his thoughts. There was an eerie silence in their wake, and James turned to look at the fire. He walked around to the front of the couch and sat down, warming his hands on the fire and listening to it crack and spit. He'd known Leah pretty much all his life. She was his next-door neighbor since they were babies. It took him a while to get to be friends with her, because she always seemed so quiet. But there was one day that him and his friends were making snowmen out on his front lawn. Leah had walked outside to get the mail and accidentally been knocked out with a stray snowball. Long story short, the mail had disintegrated because she'd come after them. She'd began talking that day, and the rest was history.

When Sirius had moved in with James the past summer, him and Leah had became closer than ever. But he found that their relationship quickly developed to love-hate, because their personalities seemed to clash. Sirius was very promiscuous, and Leah was not. Leah was quiet, often reserved, and Sirius would get on her nerves with his incessant talking, running, pranking and laughing. That much said, Sirius never stopped talking about Leah since the day he'd met her. It didn't stop him from dating other girls, but she still caught his eye somehow. James was frankly getting sick of it, and told him that there wasn't much of a chance that Leah would give him the time of day.

James stood up and went to his bedroom. He hadn't completely unpacked, so some of his clothes were still dangling off of the side of his trunk. He sifted through his sweaters and made the difficult decision of the morning; red sweater, or green sweater? He debated for a minute, and finally decided on red, pulling it over his head and fixing his glasses before he pulled on his robe. Quickly pocketing his wand, he made his way back out into the common room, checking the door to make sure it was locked, and rapped on Lily's door.

"Evans! We're all getting breakfast! Wanna join?"

"Get_bent,_ Potter! Hell hasn't frozen over yet!"

"Okay," James whispered, mostly to himself, "I'll take that as a 'no.'"

He left the head's quarters and skipped down the stairs, smiling and waving to whomever he recognized in the hallway. A quick glance out the window revealed freshly laid snow out across the campus. James loved snow, but it made quidditch practice hell, and he knew they would be needing to have one soon. As he entered the Great Hall, he quickly spotted his group of friends. Leah and Ari were sitting near Remus, who was deep in conversation with them, Peter was pushing his eggs around his plate into a shape of a rat, and Sirius had fallen asleep in his pancakes.

He took a seat next to Sirius and slapped him hard on the back, which caused Sirius to shoot up so fast that he fell backwards onto the floor. The majority of the Gryffindor table burst into laughter as he realized what happened, and stood up to take a bow before sitting back at the table.

"Was that necessary, Prongs?" Sirius asked.

"Not at all, but it was funny as hell," James replied. "Oh, by the way, you've got some pancake stuck to your cheek."

"Ah." Sirius grabbed Leah's napkin out of her hand and used it to wipe the leftover breakfast off of his face.

"Oy! Sirius! I was using that!" Leah exclaimed. Ari was giggling to herself behind her hand.

"Not anymore, you're not," Sirius pointed out. "Just think of it as today's contribution to the _Sirius Looks Ridiculously Attractive Foundation_."

"Well that's a load of bullocks," Leah said, grabbing a napkin off of the nearest table and setting it next to her plate.

"Have you gotten a load of this snow?" James asked, nodding towards the large windows in the Great Hall. There was an astounding view of the snow-capped Scottish mountains through them. The lake appeared to be on the brink of freezing, and the trees were capped perfectly like a winter wonderland, sparkling in the morning light.

"Yeah, its wicked," Remus said, turning and looking outside. "How shall we put it to use?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure, but I'm thinking something along the lines of_prank_," James whispered, leaning closer to the Marauders. They laughed devilishly, and Peter stuffed his face with the egg-rat he'd finally finished making. "Invisibility cloak?"

"Fake cows," Sirius said, nodding.

The other three of them looked up at Sirius, pausing to stare at him for a moment, before deciding to completely ignore his comment.

"Oh, here it is," Remus said, pushing Ari out of the way as he moved in closer to the Marauder huddle. He lowered his voice to barely a whisper. "Picture this; a snowstorm that never ends."

"Hmmm, I'm liking the sounds of this Moony," James said rubbing his chin and chuckling to himself.

"Indeed," Remus said. "But also, a snowball fight . . . without people."

"So you're saying, make it snow somewhere, and somehow incorporate flying snowballs," James said, nodding. "Okay, so where do we want to centralize this? I'm thinking the Grand Staircase."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Sirius nodded. "It's okay. We can do the cows next time!"

"Right," Remus said, furrowing his brow. "So we gotta somehow find a filter for the snow to get inside, _or_ find a spell that creates snow itself. Either way its entirely plausible. James . . . get your cloak."

* * *

A/N: This one took a little longer because I am a busy, poor college s tudent, so I spend most of my time trying to finish all my work so I can pass . . . but I'm doing my best! 

Please R & R! That always helps me update faster :) Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, as well!!


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